Book Image

BBC Micro:bit in Practice

By : Ashwin Pajankar, Abhishek Sharma, Sandeep Saini
Book Image

BBC Micro:bit in Practice

By: Ashwin Pajankar, Abhishek Sharma, Sandeep Saini

Overview of this book

This book is a one-stop guide for learning BBC Micro:bit with MicroPython, exploring many hardware components and programming techniques to provide detailed insights into developing practical applications with the Micro:bit. It will also show you how hardware components can be manipulated using a combination of Micro:bit and MicroPython for developing practical projects. BBC Micro:bit in Practice will help you gain a holistic understanding of the BBC Micro:bit platform and MicroPython programming, guiding you through mini projects aimed at developing practical knowledge of circuit design and writing programs. You’ll learn how to write programs for working with built-in LEDs and buttons, interfacing external LEDs, buttons, motors, buzzers, and much more. You’ll also work with built-in radio, speakers, accelerometer, and a compass. You’ll dive into concepts related to the Micro:bit filesystem, interfacing external displays, and working with libraries in detail before exploring sewable circuits and wearable technology. After reading this Micro:bit book, you’ll understand how to apply principles in electronics and MicroPython to create interesting real-life projects from scratch.
Table of Contents (22 chapters)
1
Part 1: Getting Started with the BBC Micro:bit
6
Part 2: Programming Hardware with MicroPython
10
Part 3: Filesystems and Programming Analog I/O
13
Part 4: Advanced Hardware Interfacing and Applications

Slide switches

A slide switch has three terminals and can be used to control two components. It is a type of SPST with two states where external devices can be connected. Its applications include two-way switching, home appliance control, office power control, and others. The functioning of the slide switch can be understood with the help of Figure 7.4:

Figure 7.4 – Connecting two LEDs and a slide switch with the Micro:bit

In Figure 7.4, a slide switch is connected to pin 2 with GND and VCC connections. To observe its working, we have connected two LEDs to pins 0 and 1. The important thing to observe here is that two resistors are also connected to the LEDs. These resistors help control the voltage level of LEDs so that their voltage and current levels don’t vary.

In the following program, we are controlling two LEDs with one switch. Here, we need to assign the LED connections and the switch connection. The rest will be based on the position...